On Monday, the United Nations drew attention to housing issues on the occasion of World Habitat Day. Experts from the Polish real estate portal RynekPierwotny.pl emphasize that during Poland’s 20 years of EU membership, the country has made tremendous progress in housing. Over the past two decades, 328 million square meters of new apartments and houses have been built — an area slightly larger than the city of Kraków (327 km²). But how does Poland compare to other EU countries after this period of rapid development?
A difficult starting point for Poland’s housing market
According to RynekPierwotny.pl analysts, the roots of Poland’s housing deficit stretch back to the pre-war era, when overcrowding and poor living conditions were among the worst in Europe. However, the early 1990s — the beginning of the Third Polish Republic (III RP) — are a more relevant point of reference.
A 1998 UN report painted a bleak picture of Poland’s housing situation at the time. Around 30 years ago, there were fewer than 300 dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants, placing Poland near the bottom among post-socialist states — only Albania fared worse. In comparison, Czechia and Estonia reported around 400 dwellings per 1,000 people. Poland surpassed that threshold only in the early 2010s.
“In terms of living space per person and the number of households per dwelling, Poland thirty years ago lagged behind countries like Slovakia — not to mention Czechia or Hungary, which had much better starting conditions after 1989,” notes Andrzej Prajsnar, analyst at RynekPierwotny.pl.
Two decades of catching up with the West
Prajsnar points out that Poland’s housing recovery was slowed by economic hardships in the early 2000s, when the unemployment rate reached 20% (2002–2004). EU accession in 2004 marked a turning point.
The first housing boom began soon after, resulting in an impressive outcome: between 2005 and 2024, developers completed 327.6 million square meters of new homes — roughly 328 km², slightly more than the area of Kraków.
The record-breaking year was 2022, when investors completed 22 million m² of housing — far surpassing the previous record of 17.7 million m² from 1979, during the Gierek era.
“It’s worth examining how this two-decade surge in construction affected other key housing indicators,” says Prajsnar.
Housing problems still among Poles’ top concerns
“When Poland joined the EU in 2004, our housing statistics were among the weakest in Europe. Much has changed since then — some indicators make us proud, while others still show how much work remains,” says Marek Wielgo, another RynekPierwotny.pl expert.
According to a survey by Habitat for Humanity Poland, the lack of adequate housing remains one of the top issues for Polish citizens — behind only rising living costs, low wages, and the poorly functioning healthcare system.
However, Wielgo notes that housing has dropped in the ranking of social concerns: in 2015, over 50% of respondents saw it as a major issue, compared to less than 25% today. This suggests a clear improvement over the last decade.
Bathrooms and plumbing — no longer a European embarrassment
The most significant improvement has been in housing standards, especially in rural areas, thanks to EU-funded infrastructure projects for water and sewage systems.
In 2005, according to Eurostat, about 7% of Poles — nearly 2.7 million people — lived in homes without a bathtub, shower, or flush toilet. Only Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states were worse off.
By 2023, that share had dropped to 0.5%, or about 190,000 people — a level comparable to, or even better than, many Western European countries like Italy and France. Among post-socialist countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and the Baltic states still perform worse in this regard.
“It’s important to appreciate this progress,” says Marek Wielgo. “According to GUS (Statistics Poland), at the end of the communist era, about 12.7 million Poles lived in substandard housing — roughly one in three homes lacked proper facilities. In many villages, outdoor toilets were the norm.”
Poles are investing more in their homes
Poles have also started to invest more in renovating and upgrading their homes, a trend visible in Eurostat’s data on housing quality.
In 2005, more than 40% of Poles reported problems with dampness in their homes. Moisture and mold can lead to respiratory illnesses, allergies, and even cancer. At that time, no other EU country had such a high rate of housing dampness.
By 2023, this share had fallen to less than 6% — one of the lowest in Europe, surpassed only by Croatia, Finland, and Sweden.
More rooms per person, but still below EU standards
Despite significant improvements, Poland still trails much of Europe in terms of living space. According to Eurostat, in 2024, the average Polish resident had 1.2 rooms per person, up from 1.0 in 2005. The EU average is 1.7 rooms per person, meaning Poles still live in relatively smaller and more crowded homes. Only Romania, Slovakia, and Latvia show similar results.
Has the state done enough?
Has Poland done enough over 20 years of EU membership to improve housing conditions further? The experts’ answer: not yet.
“For most of this period, housing policy was a low priority for Polish politicians,” says Andrzej Prajsnar. “Even though the issue has gained more attention in recent years, that doesn’t guarantee good results. The ongoing confusion over spatial planning reform, for example, may negatively affect the market in the coming quarters.”
In summary, after two decades in the European Union, Poland’s housing landscape has transformed dramatically. From overcrowded, substandard homes of the 1990s to millions of new, modern apartments and houses, the progress is undeniable — though challenges such as affordability, space, and coherent public policy remain.
